I'm fine w/ these methods GOG, Epic, Steam, etc use - especially if the game's launcher and game.EXE isn't wrapped w/ DRM (like Denuvo, Securom, CEG or any other forced-client program usage DRM).

I think some people who are very old-school miss the old days - when all you needed was a game-disc(s) from retail in the box, a CD/DVD drive, and you hoped the game was DRM-FREE already (like say retail copes of Venetica) or grabbed a patch online somewhere that removed the DRM-check (see retail copies of Beyond Divinity, protected by StarForce - but had a patch to remove the DRM-check). You never needed a game-client like Steam, Galaxy, or any of that stuff.

I think some people here on GOG like that they don't have to install Galaxy or use Galaxy.

What's nice is: Galaxy is optional. You don't have to use it in most instances, if you don't want to.

GOG is the only of the few main services still around today that offers DRM-FREE downloads/installers from the web browser. Though, it still is DRM, in a sense - as you do get a connect to the Internet, get a GOG account, you have to sign into your GOG account, download the installers, and whatnot one first time - so that you can keep them and not need the Net again for that game.

Once you have the installers and/or back-up your actual game-folder from GOG - for that game, you might never need GOG again, unless you need an update. Even then, you can grab updates via your GOG account via downloaders in the form or a patch or the full game (if they make sure re-download the entire game as a "patch") or let Galaxy do the updating.

Me, I go where the games go. So if a company won't remove DRM on a version (like say a Steam-version), I might - if I love the game enough or need to play it offline again at some point - maybe I'll re-buy it somewhere there's no DRM attached to it.

I definitely don't miss the pre-internet retail days. Games (the non-budget-re-releases) were always full price, and then they disappeared.

I usually bought games at Circuit City, Amazon.com, Best Buy, GameStop, EB Games, Gogamer, WalMarts, Target, or wherever over here that carried them. Often waited and didn't buy games ASAP - though I bought a lot more titles on Day 1 or not too long after that, back in the day.

I always checked the clearance and sale racks, as you never knew what kind of games you could find all cheaped-out b/c they were always trying to make retail space on those shelves.

In general though - yeah, to me, sales on GOG, Steam, Gamersgate, Direct2Drive, Fanatical, Bundle Sites, Amazon, Humble, IndieGala, or wherever these days are much better, these days and the last decade or so. Games constantly are adding expansions/DLC's and have so much competition - they can get devalued very fast. My game count has exploded immensely in the last how many years, namely b/c of Bundle Sites like Humble, Fanatical, and IndieGala. I always bought a lot anyways - but Bundle Sites really made matters even more consumer-hungry for me.

Obviously, yes. People getting older always "miss the old days," it's a common human emotion. However these people never drive sales or the new market. Change keeps happening, the world innovates and never stops moving, and the people who are happier in their middle and later years are the ones who adapt and accept.

The people against Galaxy can make as many petitions with 1,000 signatures on them as they want, but we're talking about a gaming platform with tens of millions of users who all predominantly prefer Steam style client functionality, if not outright always online games like League of Legends or whatever. Yes, GOG carved themselves out a small niche of people who don't want that, but like any business they want to grow beyond that small niche. They're trying to do so while walking a tightrope and appealing to their niche fans, which I appreciate. Unfortunately it tends to get them nothing but hate for their trouble, as every small compromise is seen as a betrayal.

I say this as someone who prefers a no-client experience and buys whatever he can on GOG for that reason. I just also recognize the small group I'm in and the market realities of the time.

As much as I miss certain things about the old days - i.e. stuffing only patches, mods, and save on back-up CD/DVD discs and/or on another hard-drive - yes, I had to adapt.

I'm still doing the above by stuffing that stuff on hard drives - but now, I'm stuffing all of the above basically on big hard drives and also full-sized games.

I don't like a lot of the DRM on games - but if I want to play these games sooner rather than later, gonna have to buy them. And if a game gets a DRM-FREE version later on Epic, GOG, Steam, or somewhere - yeah, I'm going to get it; especially if it's dirt-cheap, in a bundle, and/or something I really love.

Crap, I wonder...how many copies from retail and different digital stores do I have of Deus Ex 1, Divine Divinity, Beyond Divinity, and/or Vampire: Bloodlines do I have by now? :oP

Even if the premise were true (and I agree it is not) there is a simple solution. Encode every retail copy of the game with a serial number. If a copy appears on a pirate site (unless they remove the serial number) it will trace back to where it was purchased, and the purchaser will have to answer for the piracy. (Though this would be awful if your Gog account was hacked, I admit. :o) It would allow detectives to trace where the piracy originates (even if the pirate wasn't the person who bought the game) because it identifies from where the copy was stolen.

The line I tell myself I won't cross is streaming, not just for ownership reasons but also technical ones. Then they'll make a streaming exclusive Deus Ex or something and well... we'll see I guess.

Are you talking about GOG having "tens of millions of users"? I feel like they'd be making more money if that was the case.

I very much agree with what you're saying overall. The forums seems like a very vocal minority. My own personal line is drawn at "no more single-player installers".

PC platform. Though I'm sure GOG has many users due to the freebies and whatnot. Also I believe they're said the vast majority use Galaxy for everything, so we're a niche in a niche in a niche.

Totally believable, though I wish we could get a percent mentioned by staff (maybe I could ask chandra on the subreddit). Because of this assumption I don't get really angry when something like the Downloader is dropped or new features in Galaxy 2 are posted about as a news article, as long as we still have the installers (which surely are automated by now, though I don't know if we ever got definitive info on this; I think Thiev said something years back about automation for installers but I feel like it was contradicted elsewhere).

I have some advice for the op...which is that none of the games you mention are interesting, fun, or "good". Just personally boycott the game companies and tell everyone you know to.

I just think people should go "oh, they added offline installer downloads to Galaxy" or "oh they still offer browser downloads" rather than jumping to "THEY BETRAYED US BY REMOVING DOWNLOADER!" That's honestly a humanity problem though, not a GOG problem.